Search for tag "Firsts, other"

The Báb sent Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí to Najaf and Karbalá to proclaim His Cause among the Shaykhís. In Najaf Mullá `Alí delivered a letter from the Báb to Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan Najafí, the leading Shí`í divine and the keeper of the shrines in Iraq. [BBRSM15; DB87-91; SBBH20–1, HotD46]

The Shaykh's rejection of the claim led to a violent debate. Mullá `Alí was taken to Baghdád and imprisoned there. After a public trial, a joint tribunal of Sunní and Shí`í `ulamá, he was sent to Istanbul. He was the first martyr of the Bábí Dispensation. It is significant that Mullá Hasan Gawhar, a leading figure of the Shaykhí school, participated in the condemnation as it marks the first major challenge to Babism from a Shaykhí leader. [B27, 37–8, 58; BBR83–90; BBRSM17; BKG31; DB90–2; MMBA, BBR2p17, GPB10]

The Times of London carried an item on the arrest and torture of Quddús, Mullá Sádiq-i-Khurásání, Mullá `Alí-Akbar-i-Ardistání and Mullá Abú-Tálib in Shíráz in June. This was the first known printed reference to the Revelation. A similar article was reprinted on 19 November. [B76–7; BBR4, 69]

Bahá'u'lláh, who was living in Tihrán, visited the detainees and gave them money. [BKG41; DB278–9; GPB68]

Mullá `Abdu'lláh confessed to the murder of Hájí Mullá Muhammad Taqí and was helped to escape. [BKG41–2; DB278]

See BKG42 for why Bahá'u'lláh was thought to have engineered his escape. Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned for a few days for having assisted in Mullá `Abdu'lláh's escape.

This was Bahá'u'lláh's first imprisonment. [BKG41; BW18:380; DB585]

Shaykh Salib-i-Karímí, one of the imprisoned Bábís, was publicly executed in Tihrán.

He was the first to suffer martyrdom on Persian soil. His remains were interred in the courtyard of the shrine of the Imám-Zádih Zayd in Tihrán. [B166; BW18:380; DB280]

The remaining captives were returned to Qazvín. Hájí Asadu'lláh-i-Farhádí was secretly put to death in prison. Mullá Táhir-i-Shírází and Mullá Ibrahím-i-Maballátí were also put to death. [B166; BW18:380; DB280–3]

DB280–3 says `the rest of' the detainees were put to death by the relatives of Hájí Mullá Muhammad Taqí.

He ruled from 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated on the eve of his jubilee. [BBD168; BBR482]

The first four years of his reign were marked by the `fiercest and bloodiest of the persecutions of the religion of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh'. During the whole of his reign there were `sporadic persecutions and, in at least some cases, he himself was directly responsible for the death of the martyrs'. [BBR157]

For the first time in the Faith's history the civil and ecclesiastical powers banded together in a systematic campaign against it, one that was to `culminate in the horrors experienced by Bahá'u'lláh in the Síyáh-Chál' and `His subsequent banishment to Iraq'. [GPB37]

See BBRSM25 for an explanation of why the Bábí religion was a challenge to the secular regime.

See SB86 for a reason for Násiri'd-Dín Sháh's cruelty towards the Bábís and Bahá'ís.

See RB3:201 for an explanation of his lengthy reign.

He chose as his prime minister Mírzá Taqí Khán-i-Faráhání, known as a great reformer and a founder of modern Iran. [BBD221; BBR160]

It was not until the spring of 1849 that the new regime was in firm control.

His reform antagonized many and a coalition was formed against him. One of the most active proponents was the queen mother. She convinced the Shah that the prime minister wanted his throne. In October of 1851 the shah dismissed him and exiled him to Kashan where he was murdered on the shah's orders.

Bahá'u'lláh has a vision of the Maiden, who announces to Him that He is the Manifestation of God for this Age. [BBD142–3, 212; BKG823 ESW11–12, 21 GPB101–2; KAN62]

This experience compares to the episode of Moses and the Burning Bush, Zoroaster and the Seven Visions, Buddha under the Bodhi tree, the descent of the Dove upon Jesus and the voice of Gabriel commanding Muhammad to ‘cry in the name of thy Lord'. [GPB93, 101]

The Báb repeatedly gave the year nine as the date of the appearance of ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest'. The Declaration of the Báb took place in AH 1260; year nine was therefore AH 1269, which began in the middle of October when Bahá'u'lláh had been in prison for about two months. [CB46–7]

Subsequently in His Writings Bahá’u’lláh declared that He was the "Promised One" of all religions, fulfilling the messianic prophecies found in world religions. He stated that being several messiahs converging one person were the spiritual, rather than material, fulfilment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions. His eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications: from Judaism, the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father" from the Yuletide prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, the "Lord of Hosts"; from Christianity, the "Spirit of Truth" or Comforter predicted by Jesus in His farewell discourse of John 14-17 and the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father"; from Zoroastrianism, the return of Shah Bahram Varjavand, a Zoroastrian messiah predicted in various late Pahlavi texts; from Shi'a Islam the return of the Third Imam, Imam Husayn; from Sunni Islam, the return of Jesus, Isa; and from the Bábí religion, He whom God shall make manifest.

While Bahá’u’lláh did not explicitly state Himself to be either the Hindu or Buddhist messiah, He did so in principle through His writings. Later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that Bahá’u’lláh was the Kalki avatar, who in the classical Hindu Vaishnavas tradition, is the tenth and final avatar (great incarnation) of Vishnu who will come to end The Age of Darkness and Destruction. Bahá’ís also believe that Bahá’u’lláh is the fulfilment of the prophecy of appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, who is a future Buddha who will eventually appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. Bahá’ís believe that the prophecy that Maitreya will usher in a new society of tolerance and love has been fulfilled by Bahá’u’lláh's teachings on world peace. [Bahaikipedia]

See P&M295-196(1969), 298-299(1987) where states, "...the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth were stirred to the depths". What was "the First Call"?. See GPB121, “These initial and impassioned outpourings of a Soul struggling to unburden itself, in the solitude of a self-imposed exile (many of them, alas lost to posterity) are, with the Tablet of Kullu’t-Tá’am and the poem entitled Rashh-i-‘Amá, revealed in Ṭihrán, the first fruits of His Divine Pen.”

The Bábí Faith is first mentioned in the 27 October 1852 volume of Magyar Hírlap (The Hungarian Newspaper), under the title „Persia műveltségi történetéhez” ("To the History of Education in Persia”) where Captain Von Goumoens, a captain of the Austrian army based in Tehran reports on the terrible events related to the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.[www.bahai.hu]

Thirty–one days after Naw-Rúz, which in this year fell on 22 March, Bahá'u'lláh left His house for the last time and walked to the Najíbíyyih Garden, afterwards known as the Garden of Ridván (Paradise).

See BKG168, GPB149, RB1:260–1 and SA234–5 for details of His walk.

For the first time, He wore a tall táj as a symbol of His station. [BBD221; BKG176; GPB152]

Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden just as the call to afternoon prayer was being made. [GPB149; RB1:261]

On this day Bahá'u'lláh declared His mission to a few of His disciples. [RB1:260, 262]

On the afternoon of Bahá'u'lláh's arrival at the Garden He revealed the Lawh-i-Ayyúb for Hájí Muhammad-i-Taqíy-i-Nayrízí. [SA239]

This was the formal announcement to the nominee of the Báb of the station of ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest' and a summons for him to pay allegiance to His Cause. [CB83–4; RB2:161]

Bahá'u'lláh directed his amanuensis to take the Tablet to Mírzá Yáhyá. Upon receipt he became very angry and a "jealous fire consumed him". He responded by claiming that he was the recipient of a divine revelation and all must turn to him. [CH60, BKG230; CB84; GPB166–7; RB2:162]

The announcement that Bahá'u'lláh was the Promised One spread quickly to Iraq and to Persia. The followers were happy for the clarification and glad to be rid of Yáhyá. Only the express command of Bahá'u'lláh prevented them from ridding the world of such nefarious traitor. [CH61]

It is believed that Yáhyá's conduct and accusations precipitated the next exile. [CH61]

Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Badí‘, the Munájátháy-i-Síyám (Prayers for Fasting), the first Tablet to Napoleon III, the Lawh-i-Sultán written to Násiri'd-Dín Sháh, and the Súriy-i-Ra'ís. [BKG245; GBP172]

See RB2:370–82 for details of the Kitáb-i-Badí'.

Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch) in which ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's future station was foreshadowed. [BBD218; BKG250; GPB177]

Principal Bahá'ís in Baghdád were arrested by the Turkish authorities and exiled to Mosul and other places. [BBR265; BKG247; CH129–30; RB2:333]

RB2:333 indicates this took place towards the end of Bahá'u'lláh's stay in Adrianople.

About 70 people were exiled. [GPB178; RB2:334] Estimate given by Hájí Mirzá Haydar-;Alí is 80. (DOH12]

See BKG184 for an illustration of Mosul.

See BKG183 for a description of the city.

See RB2:334 for the hardships suffered by the exiles.

They remained in Mosul for some 20 years until Bahá'u'lláh advised the community to disband (1885-1886). Their hardship was lessened by generous contributions from the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs. A charity fund was established, the first fund of that kind in any Bahá'í community. [RB2:334–6]

The ship arrived in Haifa in the early morning. [BKG269; GPB182; RB3:11]

Bahá'u'lláh and His companions — 70 in all — disembarked and were taken ashore in sailing boats. [RB3:11]

One of the Bahá'ís, Áqá `Abdu'l-Ghaffár, one of the four companions of Bahá'u'lláh condemned to share the exile of Mírzá Yahyá, threw himself into the sea when he learned he was to be separated from Bahá'u'lláh. [BKG269; GPB182]

A few hours later Bahá'u'lláh's party was put aboard a sailing vessel and taken to `Akká. [RB3:12]

See CH66 for Bahíyyih Khánum's account of the journey.

The exiles landed in `Akká and began a confinement in the citadel that was to last two years, two months and five days. [CH67, BBR205; BKG169; DH12; RB3:11]

See BKG277–9 for a list of the exiles. Two others joined them immediately after arrival. [BBR205]

See BR205–6 for `Abdu'l-Bahá's account of the journey of exile.

See RB32:2 and RB3:21 for prophecies regarding Bahá'u'lláh's exile to `Akká.

See DH17–24 for a history of `Akká before the arrival of Bahá'u'lláh.

See DH26–8 and GPB186–7 for a description of the exiles' walk to the prison.

See GPB186–7 for Bahá'u'lláh's description of the citadel and the conditions there on His arrival.

See BKG275–7 for Áqá Ridá's description of the citadel and the conditions there.

See DH30–1 for a description of the citadel building and the accommodation used by Bahá'u'lláh.

The first night the exiles were refused both food and drink. [GPB187]

Afterwards each prisoner was allocated three loaves of stale black bread as a daily food ration plus filthy water. [GBP187]

Within two days all fell ill with typhoid but for two, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and another man who was able to help Him nurse and care for the others. [CH234]

Three of the exiles died soon after arrival. Soon after their death Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawh-i-Ra'ís, the second Tablet to `Alí Páshá. [BKG283; GPB187; RB3:20, 34]

See BKG317–21 and CH250–1 for the story of the Azalís who were confined to `Akká with the exiles.

See BBRSM69–70 for details on the system of communications used between the Holy Land and the Bahá'í communities.

At first the Governor was disinclined to relax the strict rules of the exiles but eventually allowed Mírzá Ja'far to go into town, accompanied by a soldier, to purchase food. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had sent Mírzá 'bdu'l-Ahad ahead some time before with instructions to open a shop. It was six months before the exiles could make contact with him. During this time a Greek, Dr. Petro, became a friend and, after having made investigations, assured the Governor that the exiles were not criminals. [CH67]

The King of Martyrs and his brother The Beloved of Martyrs were the first to make contact with the exiles by telegraph. They were able to provide much need assistance. [CH67]

After the restrictions had been relaxed somewhat Shaykh Salmán was able to function as a courier carrying Tablets and letters to and from Persia. When he was arrested in Aleppo, carrying a most important supplication from a friend in Persia to Bahá'u'lláh, he swallowed the letter to avoid detection. [CH67-68]

He marries into a well-to-do Indo-Burman family of traders and settles in Rangoon, remaining in Burma to build up the Burmese community. [BW10:517; PH23]

See BW10:517–18 and MC155 for his conversion of Daidanaw, the first all-Bahá'í village in the world outside Iran.

See BW10:517–20 for an account of his life.

He is named a Hand of the Cause of God by the Guardian after his passing. In the village of Daidanaw, Burma (Rangoon) there is a building they call "the Shrine of Siyyid Mustafa Rumí" in his honour. [CBN253Aug-Sep1971p5]

The first Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was Hájí Sháh-Muhammad-i-Manshádí, or Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad from Manshád, Yazd who had become a believer in Baghdad. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]

His title was Amínu'l-Bayán (Trustee of the Bayán).

He made many journeys between Iran and the Holy Land carrying donations and petitions from the friends and returning with Tablets and news.

He was tasked with receiving the casket of the Báb and transferring it to the Mosque of Imámzádih Zayd in Tehran where it stayed until 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for it for the internment.

Hájí Sháh-Muhammad was in 'Akká when Áqá Buzurg, entitled Badí', came to confer with Bahá'u'lláh. He and Badí met on Mount Carmel as directed by Bahá'u'lláh.

He was killed as a result of wounds incurred during an attack during a Kurdish revolt. [RoB3p73]

Reference was made to it in a paper entitled The Religious Mission of the English Speaking Nations by Rev. Henry H. Jessup, a retired missionary from north Syria, read by Rev George A. Ford at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. [AB63–4; BBD2412; BBR57; BFA1:323; BW2:230; GPB256; SBBH1:76, 88, 202]

See AB63–4, BW2:169 for text.

Historians have observed that, before this Parliament, "religion" was classified by many Americans into ethnic religion and universal religion. They considered there being only one universal religion: Christianity. In this view, all previous faiths were ethnic religions, and their purpose was to prepare the people for Christianity; ethnic religions may have had portions of the truth, but only Christianity had all truth. This 1893 Parliament was a pivotal moment in the abolition of such classification, as representatives of "eastern" religions such as Swami Vivekananda and Anagarika Dharmapala promoted a new religious tolerance. [Paraphrased quote from Robert Stockman]

William Hoar, one of the first Bahá'ís in America, is asked by `Abdu'l-Bahá to meet with the Persian ambassador in Washington to request justice for the Bahá'ís of Iran, thus marking the beginning of the efforts of the American Bahá'í community to alleviate the persecution of their brethren. [BFA2:51]

Thomas Breakwell, an Englishman living in the United States, learned of the Bahá'í Faith in Paris from May Bolles. Within three days he becomes a believer and immediately wrote to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [AB74–5; BW7:707]

For May Bolles' own account see SW7:707–11.

He is the first male British Bahá'í. [BFA2:154]

He is designated by Shoghi Effendi the `first English believer'. [GPB259]

The Day of the Covenant The Day of the Covenant is a Bahá'í holy day honouring the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, in particular, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the “Centre of the Covenant" and as such, the successor, the interpreter and the exemplar of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant also provided for the extension of this covenant to the Guardian and to the Universal House of Justice.
The first celebration of the Day of the Covenant in North America was marked on this day.

Prior to this time some of the believers celebrated the birth of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the 22nd of May. Others marked the 29th of May, the anniversary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and thusly, the day on which He acceded to the leadership of the Bahá'í community.

'Abdu'l-Bahá chose the day November 26th, as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar, as approximately half a year away from this date, to commemorate His appointment of the Centre of the Covenant.

The day was know as Jashn-i-A'zam (The Greatest Festival) in the East because He was Ghusn-i-A'zam, the Greatest Branch or the "Most Might Branch" [GPB238, BFA2:XV, 56; SA247, Day of the Covenant by Christopher Buck, AB523]

Ali Kuli Khan marries Florence Breed, the first marriage between a Persian and a Western Bahá'í. [BFA2:147]

For details of this marriage see SUR223–20.

When 'Abdu'l-Bahá heard the new of the marriage He said, ‘This is the first sign of union between East and West.’ Then He sent for candies to be brought and said, ‘The event is so joyous that it must be celebrated!’ And He distributed the candy to those present, as is the custom for the parents of the bridegroom to do at a Persian wedding banquet. [AY26]

Hippolyte Dreyfus, Marianne Jerard and Laura Barney visited Russian Turkistan and Iran, specifically Tabriz and Maku and Ishqabad. While in Iran, they witnessed the disturbances associated with the constitutional revolution, which had reached its climax that summer. [BFA2:XVI]

the first African-American Baha'i and a member of the first Western Pilgrimage to Haifa in 1898, led by his employer Mrs. Phoebe Hearst. He was a butler in her household for more than 35 years. He was taught the Baha'i Faith by Lua Getsinger in the process of serving tea and remained a devoted believer his entire life. "Such was the tenacity of his faith that even the subsequent estrangement of his beloved mistress from the Cause she had spontaneously embraced failed to becloud its radiance, or to lessen the intensity of the emotions which the loving-kindness showered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upon him had excited in his breast." (GPB259) [A Vision of Race Unity, Vingp101, AZBF475, An Early Pilgrimage by May Maxwell]

He received a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá while on his deathbed and a tribute after his passing. [AY60, 61, 339, AB72]

He was one of the nineteen Western Bahá'ís designated as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

`Abdu'l-Bahá departed for Egypt on board the Kosseir accompanied by two attendants, Mírzá Munír-i-Zayn and 'Abdu'l-Husayn. [ABF5, BBRXXX; GPB280, AB134-135, Bahá'í News #12 16Oct1910 pg206,
the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated August 29, 2010]

After one month in Port Said He embarked for Marseille but turned back to Alexandria owing to His health. In a letter to Munírih Khánum He stated that His intention was to proceed to America or South Africa. [GPB280, ABF5]

He stayed for a few days in the Victoria Hotel but then moved to a rented house in Ramleh, a suburb of Alexandria, where He stayed for about one year. [GPB280, AB136]

Early in May of 1911 he moved to Cairo and took up residence in nearby Zaytún. [AB138]

It was during this period that a sudden change occurred. A journalist who had previously been hostile towards Him took a new tone. [AB136]

The Russian poet Isabel Grinevsky, the Oriental Secretary of the British Agency, Ronald Storrs, Lord Kitchener, George Zaydán, eminent writer and celebrated editor as well as clerics, aristocrats, administrators, parliamentarians, men of letters, journalists and publicists, Arabs, Turks and Persians all sought out His company and met with Him. This period could be considered the first public proclamation of the Faith. [MRHK348, AB136-139]

The First Universal Races Congress was held at the University of London. It was the first important conference in which the British Bahá'ís participated. It was an international symposium on the theme of the brotherhood of humankind and attracted leading politicians, theologians and scholars from the whole of the British Empire and from Europe as well as North America. During the Congress itself there were several presentations from Bahá'ís including the reading of a letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá who was in Egypt at the time. [NBAD45]

See SoW Vol II No 9 for a report by Wellesley Tudor-Pole, an article by Thorton Chase as well as the letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the conference. See as well Speech for the Universal Races Congress translation and comments by Senn McGlinn.

A translation was published in "The Christian Commonwealth" on August 2, 1911.

A bibliography of the presentations, papers and contributions and secondary literature by Ralph Dumain can be found here.

Hájí Muhammad-Taqí Afnán, Vakílu'd-Dawlih, the cousin of the Báb largely responsible for the building of the House of Worship in `Ishqábád, is buried in the newly acquired Bahá'í cemetery in Haifa, the earliest recorded burial in the cemetery. [BBD51; DH182]

`Abdu'l-Bahá gaves His first public address in the West in the City Temple Church in Holborn, London to an audience of over 2,000 people. He proclaimed that “This is a new cycle of human power…the gift of God in this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and the fundamental oneness of religion.” [ABL17-20, AB140; BW2:227; GPB283–4, In the Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá p11]

He spoke at the invitation of The Reverend R J Campbell. Mr. Wellesly Tudor-Pole read the translation. [CH154]

For the text of His talk see AB140–2.

For the words He wrote in the pulpit Bible see AB145. The church was bombed in World War II and the pulpit Bible was destroyed. The church was rebuilt in 1958.

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was written entirely in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own hand and it was Shoghi Effendi's first translation for the believers in the West. It was sent to New York and addressed to "The beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the United states of America and Canada". The "Will" delineated the Bahá’í
World Order, already founded in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and of which 'Abdul'-Bahá
was the architect. [AY304]

The Peace Court ruled in favour of giving the Bahá'ís possession of House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdád, however, the Council of Ministers, with the approval of King Feisal, ordered that the property not be returned until ownership can be established. [SETPE1p26]

The Guardian sent 19 cables to various individuals and national bodies with instructions that the Bahá'ís should send cables to the British High Commissioner in Iráq, Sir Henry Dobbs, as well as to the British authorities in Iráq and in London as well as to King Feisal to protest the action of the Council of Ministers. In communities where the numbers are stronger, Persia and America, he instructed that every local assembly protest directly. The Guardian himself sent over 600 pieces of correspondence during the following six months concerning this issue. [PP94-6, GBF33-34 BA94-95]

The Iráqí government refused to bow to the pressure put upon them. [PP96]

The publication of A Commentary on the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá written by David Hofman by a new publisher, George Ronald. They went on to publish books on business ethics, comparative religion, studies of sacred texts, Islam, poetry, music, novels, biography and philosophy as well as a number of other subjects. George Ronald is primarily a publisher of books related to the
history, teachings, doctrines and personalities of the Bahá’í Faith. See the reference for a list of Bahá'í books published up to 2013. [George Ronald
A Bibliographic History
by
Jan Jasion]

Reflecting the unity in diversity highly valued by the Baha'i community, Amin Banani, Mildred Mottahedeh, Hilda Yen, and Matthew Bullock presented the statement "A Baha'i Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights" to the UN, which ended by quoting a well-known passage by Baha'u'llah: "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."

Amin Banani was an influential scholar; Mildred Mottahedeh was a member of the International Baha'i Council from 1961-63 and later a representative of the BIC for many years; Hilda Yen was a leading figure in Chinese-American society who worked as a diplomat for many years; and Matthew Bullock was a Knight of Baha'u'llah for the Dutch West Indies, on this day was also a Knight for the Netherlands Antilles, and later a representative of the BIC. [BWNS1172]

The name ‘Bahá’í International Community’ was first used to refer to the eight existing National Spiritual Assemblies recognized collectively as a non-governmental organization. [BBRSM149; BW11:43; BW12:597]

The Bahá’í International Community evolved to become an international non-governmental organization with affiliates in over 180 countries and territories, which together represent over 5-6 million members of the Bahá’í Faith. As an international NGO, the Office interacts and cooperates with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, with governments, as well as with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. The BIC seeks to promote and apply principles — derived from the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith — which contribute to the resolution of current day challenges facing humanity and the development of a united, peaceful, just, and sustainable civilization. The work of the BIC focuses on the promotion of a universal standard for human rights, the advancement of women, and the promotion of just and equitable means of global prosperity.

Mildred Mottahedeh is appointed to serve as the accredited Bahá’í International Observer, a post she holds as a volunteer for almost 20 years. [BW12:601]

The following is a list of UN agencies with whom the BIC has representation:
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF),
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
World Health Organization (WHO).

The National Spiritual Assembly members at that time were John Aldham Robarts, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, manager; Emeric Sala, of the city
of St. Lambert, province of Quebec, manufacturer; Dame Laura Romney Davis, wife of Victor Davis of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario; Siegfried Schopflocher, of the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, manufacturer; Rowland Ardouin Estall,
of the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, insurance broker; Ross Greig Woodman, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, lecturer; Lloyd George Gardner, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, wholesaler; and Dame Doris Cecilia Richardson, wife of J. P.
Richardson, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario; and Dame Rosemarv Scott Sala, wife of the said Emeric Sala, of the city of St. Lambert, province Corporate of Quebec.

Louis Gregory kept a journal of his visit to 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 including statements of 'Abdu'l-Baha, stories of the believers in the Holy Land and his experiences at the Shrines. It includes a selection of tablets 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed to him. A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory".

President of Israel Ben Zvi and his wife visit the Shrines on Mount Carmel, the first official visit paid by a head of a sovereign state to the Shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. [GBF139–140; MBW68; PP2923]

The first contacts with the Aboriginal people were made in Kampong Jus in Malacca by Saurajen, as reported at a special meeting held with Hand of the Cause of God, Dr. Muhajir in Malacca on 29 December 1957. [Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications, Author A. Manisegaran. Pages 221-222]

First Bahá'í marriage in Taiwan was between Miss Yeh Chan-ching and Mr Yang Su-thou. Official government recognition of the Bahá'í marriage was obtained in 1973. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p37]

The results of the election of the Universal House of Justice are announced at the close of the morning session of the International Convention: Charles Wolcott, ‘Alí Nakhjavání, H. Borrah Kavelin, Ian Semple, Lutfu’lláh Hakím, David Hofman, Hugh Chance, Amoz Gibson and Hushmand Fatheazam. [BBD231–3; BBRSM131; BW14:425 MC425; SS50; VVXI-XII]

For a picture of the Hands of the Cause of God with the Universal House of Justice see ZK123.

While in the custody of the Portuguese authorities Eduardo Duarte Vieira dies in prison in Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea Bissau) after twenty days of torture. He is named the first African martyr. [BW14:390, BW16:568]

For his obituary see BW14:389–90.

For the messages to his wife and children he scratched on a biscuit box see BW14:390–1.

A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. WOB203

1844 May 24 Samuel F.B. Morse sent the first telegraphic message over an experimental line from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, the message said: "What hath God wrought?"

1894 May 10 Marconi sends a radio wave 3/4 mile, the first "wireless" transmission.

1858 Aug 16 the first transatlantic telegraph cable is an undersea cable running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications was laid across the floor of the Atlantic from Telegraph Field, Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The first communications occurred August 16, 1858, reducing the communication time between North America and Europe from ten days.

1969 October 29 The birth of the Internet. First message from computer to computer in different locations. UCLA student Charley Kline attempts to transmit the text “login” to a computer at the Stanford Research Institute over the first link on the ARPANET, which was the precursor to the modern Internet. After the letters “l” and “o” are sent the system crashed, making the first message ever sent on the Internet “lo” and the first crash of the system.

The passing of Agnes Baldwin Alexander, Hand of the Cause; “the daughter of the Kingdom”, and “the beloved maid-servant of the Blessed Perfection” (‘Abdu’l-Baha); the only Hand of the Cause mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan; The first Baha’i to set foot on Hawaiian soil; the first Baha’i to settle in Japan; and the first Baha’i to teach the Faith in Korea passes away in Honolulu. (b. 21 July 1875) [BW15:423; VV8]

She was appointed a Hand of the Cause on the 27th of March, 1957 after the passing of Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend. [MoCxxiv]

Following the ban imposed by the government of the Central African Republic on Bahá’í activities in November 1970 and subsequent representations made by the international Bahá’í lawyer Dr Aziz Navidi, the ban is lifted and the Bahá’í Faith officially recognized.

This is broadcast in every news bulletin on government radio for the next 24 hours, the first public proclamation of the Bahá’í Faith in the country.

The passing of Adelaide Sharp (b. Texas, 1896) in Tehran. In 1929 she accompanied Dr Susan Moody (77) to Tehran and and took up the position of principal of the Tarbiyat School for Girls (opened 1910). In 1931 she invited her mother, Clara Sharp, to come and live with her. After the closing of the Tarbiyat Schools on the 6th of December, 1934, the Guardian asked her to remain in Persia. She organized study classes for both boys and girls to study English writings such as Bahá'í Administration, The Promised Day is Come, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh and other works from the Guardian. In 1954 the Guardian ruled that women could serve on Baha'i administrative bodied in Persia. She was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly and served in this role for the next fourteen years. She attended the First and Second International Conventions in 1963 and in 1968. Her five decade legacy of service in Iran included children's education, translating Writings, consolidating administrative institutions, serving as the"external affairs" representative for the National Assembly. Upon her passing memorial services where held in Tehran as well as other centres throughout the country. [BW17p418-420, Baha’i Heroes & Heroines]

The first Bahá’í educational and cultural radio station, HCRN-1 Radio Bahá’í del Ecuador, makes its inaugural broadcast at 1420kHz, 20 watts, in Spanish and Quechua from studios in Otavalo. [BBD193; BW17:169, 215–17; BW19:120; VV77]

For pictures see BW17:216, 218 and VV77.

Full time programming (six hours a day) as initiated on the 12th of December, 1977. The 1 kiloWatt transmitter is located at Cahas, 20km south of Otavalo. [Radio Bahá'í Ecuador p23, 52]

On December 12th, 1979, programming was initiated in the short wave band on 2340 kHz in the 120-metre band. The 1 kilowatt transmitter is located about 30 km north of Otavalo at an altitude of 10,000 feet. In 1982 the transmission frequency was switched to 4990 kHz on the 60-meter band. [Radio Bahá‘Í Ecuador p205 note 23]

Bahá’ís in Liechtenstein mount a display of Bahá’í books and an exhibition at an international festival for peace, justice and the preservation of creation held in Balzers, the first time they have been allowed to have a booth or stand of any kind in public. [BINS209:8]

Eighty leaders of thought from around the world gathered at Landegg Academy for the first International Dialogue on the Transition to a Global Society. The event was co-sponsored by the University of Maryland, the Vienna Academy for the Study of the Future and the Landegg Academy. [VV109]

Dr. Victor de Araujo, Bahá'í representative to the United Nations for 23 years and the first full-time representative, retired from his duties. He had represented the BIC at innumerable conferences and seminars throughout the world as well as at the UN headquarters in New York, often serving as chairman on the UN committees. [VV54]

In a message from Hand of the Cause A.M. Varqá, the Office of the Trustee, the Institution of the Huqúqu'lláh, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, the formation of the Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh was announced. Members were Mr. Husayn Banání, Dr. Mohsen Enayat, Dr. Gerald Hanks, Dr. Bill Hatcher, and Dr. Michael Rochester. [CBNJan92 p2]

"The Office of Ḥuqúqu’lláh has been established in the Holy Land under the direction of the Chief Trustee of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá, in anticipation of the worldwide application of the Law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh next Riḍván. Concurrent with this development are the steps being taken by Dr. Varqá to organize regional and national Boards of Trustees of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, following the example of the Board already functioning in the United States. " [From the Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 1991.]

The dedication of the first academic chair in Bahá'í studies in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem with the appointment of Prof. Moshe Sharon. The position was made possible because of an anonymous donation. [Jerusalem Post, June 7, 1999, BWNS84]

The passing of Mildred Mottahedeh in New York. She had been elected to the International Bahá’í Council, the first globally elected Bahá’í body and was the first Bahá'í International Community representative to the United Nations. She was born in Seabright, New Jersey, on 7 August 1908 and was 91. [One Country Jan-Mar 2000 Vol 11 Issue 4, TP705-706]

The first International Conference on Modern Religions and Religious Movements in Judaism Christianity and Islam and the Bábí-Bahá’í Faiths was held in Jerusalem with about 90 persons in attendance. [BWNS84]

Given current conditions in the world the Ninth International Convention was cancelled. It had been scheduled for 29 April to 2 May. Ballots from the National Spiritual Assembly members were mailed to the World Centre. The 19 delegates that had been chosen as tellers travelled to the World Centre to count the votes. [BW'02-‘03pg37-38, BWNS202]

Mr. Grossmann, born in Germany, had academic qualifications in the German and English languages. He served on the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Germany (1963 to 1969) and Finland (1977 to 1980). He was a university academic in Finland. Mr. Grossmann was appointed a Continental Counsellor in 1980, advising Baha'i communities throughout Europe in their growth and development. He had been serving in the International Teaching Centre prior to his election.

Dr. Javaheri, who was born in Iran, had a doctorate in agronomy. He lived for 27 years in Africa -- Gambia then Zambia -- where he was Chief Technical Adviser for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. He served the Bahá'í communities there in the area of social and economic development. He was appointed a Continental Counsellor in 1995 after serving for 19 years as a member of its Auxiliary Board. He, like Mr Grossmann, had been serving in the International Teaching Centre prior to his election. [BWNS208]

Shirin Ebadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first Muslim woman to win the coveted distinction.

For a long time she has fought for the rights of women and children in Iran and it is most fitting that she, a woman lawyer who dared to speak out against the sexist Iranian regime, be praised and recognised by the world.

She is an author and also the founder of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. [Nobel Peace Prize 2003]

In 2002 she founded the Defender of Human Rights Center and in 2009 she was forced to flee into exile after briefly serving as legal counsel for the imprisoned Yaran. Mrs. Ebadi was threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media after taking on their case and was not given access to their case files. [BWNS694]

The opening of Cambodia’s first “Local House of Worship” in Battambang, just over two years after the design of the building was unveiled in July 2015.

The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar was designed by Phnom Penh-based architect Tang Sochet Vitou. It is situated on a 9 hectare property of which 1.5 hectares is used for the temple, an administrative building as well as gardens and ponds. The temple is a frequent topic of conversation among the local population. Even before its completion, it has galvanized action towards the betterment of the community and brought neighbours together. it will help provide for the spiritual needs of Cambodia’s growing Baha’i community which, according to the Ministry of Cult and Religion’s most recent annual report, numbers about 12,000 although some adherents say the figure may now be closer to 20,000. Baha’i communities were first recorded in the kingdom in the 1920s and since 1992 they have grown steadily with the help of aid workers and Asian immigrants.

In a letter dated 18 December 2014, the Universal House of Justice explained that a Baha’i House of Worship is a “collective centre of society to promote cordial affection” and “stands as a universal place of worship open to all the inhabitants of a locality irrespective of their religious affiliation, background, ethnicity, or gender and a haven for the deepest contemplation on spiritual reality and foundational questions of life, including individual and collective responsibility for the betterment of society.”

The dedication was marked by a two-day conference bringing together over 2,500 people from Battambang and every other region of Cambodia. A number of Cambodian dignitaries attended along with representatives of Baha’i communities in Southeast Asia. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Ms. Sokuntheary Reth who serves on the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia.

The design for the local Bahá'í House of Worship was unveiled at a gathering in Matunda Soy, Kenya attended by about 1,000 people. The temple will accommodate about 250 people and the design incorporates the diamond-shaped pattern, a motif commonly found in Kenyan culture. It will be built of construction materials found locally; the roof will be made of local state and the walls from from stone quarried nearby. The Temple’s architect, Neda Samimi, was the first female architect for a Baha’i House of Worship. [BWNS1251]